Keeping up with the web design trends of 2017 keeps your website looking fresh instead of dated. Current trends in web design include moving elements, bold typography, and original artwork. If you’re thinking about adding some trendy elements to your website, here are five of the most popular to consider.

1. GIFs and Cinemagraphs

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much more worth does a moving picture have? With the proliferation of cinemagraphs, we’ll soon see. Cinemagraphs truly count as one of the hottest web design
trends for 2017.

So what are cinemagraphs, anyway? They are those pictures that combine still photography with some elements of video: Most of the picture is still, but a small portion of it moves.

2. Original Illustration and Photography

The use of original illustration and photographs on websites might usher in a new Golden Age of illustration and photography. These little pictures add life and personality to a company’s website. Nowadays, there are a number of sites that sell stock photos and illustrations: Websites with custom-made illustration stand out. They also help companies visually define their brands.

As for photography, the images that stand the best chance at garnering your site notice will include photos of real people’s faces. To really make sure your images sail past the stock-photo-censors in your viewers’ brains, be sure to include candid photos that help tell your story.

3. Pre-Built Sites

While the idea of having an original website is appealing, it can also be cost-prohibitive for all but the biggest companies. And with the advent of customizable websites via WordPress or Wix, it’s fairly simple to make a basic website template look like you created it from scratch.

Additionally, there are some other more practical reasons aside from money to use one of these pre-made sites. They’re easier to fix and they come with a customer service department. Moreover, there are a number of tutorials on the web that teach you how to make the most of these sites. This saves time and gives you and your design team the best of both worlds.

4. Brand Storytelling

Otherwise known as immersive storytelling or transmedia storytelling, this type of storytelling conveys the story of your brand through videos, images, illustrations, social media interactions, and text to name but a few of the elements. The thing about this type of storytelling is that it meets people where they’re at. It provides a lot of entry points to a brand story.

The move toward this kind of storytelling is a reflection of the consolidation or synergy of the different types of media owned by a media company. “The Dark Knight” trilogy is an example of how these different media – graphic novels, social media, movies, and video – tell different parts of the same story.

But your company doesn’t have to be a superhero company to take advantage of this. Think about each type of media and the person most likely to use it. For example, people like Twitter for different reasons than they like Facebook. How can you use this knowledge to tell the whole story of your brand across different media?

5. Bold Fonts, Lots of White Space

Bold fonts plus white space are getting their day in the web design trends of 2017
. While some design trends move toward more photography and transmedia storytelling, others move away from this. Using a bold font against a minimalist background is one way to do this.

However, this doesn’t mean boring. Typography when used correctly can be a stunning design element. Consider, for example, wine bottle labels that feature a classy font on a black background. You can add the same vibe on your website by following this example.

Final Thoughts on 2017 Design Trends

The website design trends for 2017 leave you lots of options. If you’re a minimalist at heart, try adding a bold font to your site to complement a spare background and a small amount of text. If you want something original, try hiring a photographer or illustrator to capture your company’s look. Finally, cinemagraphs and transmedia storytelling can capture your audience’s attention by meeting them where they’re at.